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HOW TO PULL CHAVANT FROM THE CARPET / THE KEY TO A SCULPTORS DOMESTIC BLISS

I've experimented with soap and water, steam cleaners, picking at them with a fork BUT I think I finally found the trick: 1. Invert a can of compressed air 2. Blast chavent ball with a couple burst. Ball and carpet should turn white. 3. Using a table fork, place fork teeth under the ball. 4. Don't pull the fork up, but push the fork until the ball collects towards the handle. 5. Use warm, soapy water and a sponge to remove the remaining "cold" spot.

That's it! Until this I was considering how much of my damage deposit would go towards a new carpet.

MARK NEWMAN'S Super Sculpey Mix

50% Super Sculpey (Pink)

50% Super Sculpey Firm (Grey)

The
best way to mix is to run the mix through an old school pasta maker a
few times (a good one runs about $30.) The mix should be a light grey
when finished, with no pink or dark grey streaks. This should keep the
clay from getting crumbly or becoming too flexible when heated during
working.

CASEY LOVE'S Foolproof Method of Baking Super Sculpey

I
raise the temp again to 275 for 2- 3 hours or until the Super Sculpey
has turned a dark caramel or even as dark as a reddish brown brick
color.

I shut off the oven and leave the sculpt to completely cool down before removing the sculpture.

If
you are baking a rather thick sculpture use the same method above but
raise the temperature slower and in smaller increments.

I
use this method above and have baked sculptures with NO CRACK'S and even
better the clay is hard as a rock. I have noticed a huge difference in
dremeling the clay and how strong the clay is compared to a weaker
baked Super Sculpey. Yesterday I dropped a hand on the floor and the
sculpture bounced, no crack's or damage happened to the hand, normally
it would of cracked or worse shattered if it had not been baked
properly. " - Casey Love

I think most of us are very familiar
with Casey's work, especially his exceptional masks, but if you're not
here's an extra helping of goodness: http://www.caseylovedesigns.com/

CREATE YOUR OWN SCULPTING TOOLS

"Sculpting tools are essential kit for sculpting in clay or oil based
clays such as plasteline (a high grade plasticine), wax or chavant.

Usually, there are two main kinds of sculpting tools-the stick-like variety which usually are used for adding material, and loops which are used for taking away. They are not that expensive to buy, but there are some great tools which are not easily found but easily made. It's fun, too.

This article will show you how to make your own loop tools from scratch.
Loops can be all shapes and sizes depending on the scale of the job.
For blocking out life size figures, you will need something bigger, and
for fine lines and wrinkles on prosthetics you'll need something
smaller. The principle remains the same."

Hi David Cusak, thanks! Have you any notes about Clay types? I mean, if possible to post something here about the diferent types of clay, the difference between them, like chavant and monster clay, what is the difference?, I don't know. Which are the uses of each one, etc? Thanks!

WED - water/oil based. Excellent for
large sculptures. My experience with WED is really limited, but its
great stuff. Easy to work the forms, holds detail well, and doesn't dry
out as quickly as standard water base clays.

CHAVANT - my go to favorite, using it for most maquette work. Around 12
to 18 inches. Quickly build up forms while the clays warm and once cooled fine
details can be create much the same as wax.

SUPER SCULPY
- The baking properties are great for maquettes/sculpts that will not be cast and need to be shipped. I
don't use sculpy directly from the box. I instead mix the SS (pink) and
SS Firm (grey) in about equal portions (see Mark Newman's SS Mix in a previous T&T). The mix helps keep the sculpty
from getting too flexible or crumbly.MONSTER CLAY - I have yet to work with, but I surely am curious. Monster has many of the same properties as Chavant, but it won't stick to your tools or fingers and that alone would explain its growing popularity. Here's a great video detailing sculptor Cyril Roquelaine's first contact with Monster.

David!! Incredible help you are offering us!!! Let me ask you more details on clay types... I live in Brasil, here I don't have any idea of where to buy any of those. Is there any number, like you should try Chavant number 3, because it is easier to keep the details, or something like that or is it only Chavant?

Thanks! Do you have any request? Maybe I could help? Thanks again! Great help!!

@Gustavo&nbsp; Many sculptors use Chavant NSP Medium (no sulfur). For smaller sculpts, something under six inches, I will use NSP Hard. It just saves my sanity in not mashing my tiny hard earned forms.

HUMAN ANATOMICAL REFERENCE | Full Body/Heads Digital Scans

Various
male and female full-body or head images of digital scans provide a nice
all-in-one-place and kinda tricky resource for the human body. Especially helpful for
blocking out the primary and secondary forms. Click on the details
button for turnaround and detail views.

@John&nbsp; Feel free to contact Don directly! He's always willing to help and I'm sure he'll know (that and every other scultpture/industry question you may have.) Probably easiest to get a hold of him via Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/don.lanning3